Tiger Spirit

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” 1 Peter 5:8-9, NIV.

Even after coming to faith, new believers often have ties to the occult that cause spiritual oppression. Elsie*, who had confessed Jesus just a few months ago, found that out while sitting in a worship service. She suddenly clasped her hands to her ears and screamed, “Stop, stop.”

Other believers rushed over to her, but her glazed look told them that she was not aware of her surroundings. They all began to pray. Eventually she relaxed and came back to them.

“I could hear a tiger roaring in my ears,” she said. Then she told of her mother’s involvement with spirits as she was growing up. Her mother had an agreement with a spirit that would protect her and the family. The spirit would manifest itself as a tiger.

“You mean that you had tiger idols in your home?” one man asked.

“No, I mean we would see a tiger walking around outside our home, or in fields where I and my sister were playing,” she replied. “Mother told us not to be afraid of the tiger. It was a spirit that would protect us.”

That night a mature believer stayed with Elsie. As they lay in bed trying to go to sleep, Elsie had a death grip on the other woman’s hand. Even though she knew that Jesus in her was more powerful than any other spirit, it was still scary.

*Name changed for security reasons.

Pray that:

The fear tactics of the enemy will fail to move the faith of new believers in the Pacific Rim.

Mature believers will exercise the authority of Christ over unclean spirits as they disciple new Christians coming out of occult backgrounds.

Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.